1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-vitamin and mineral supplements, and particularly to multi-vitamin and mineral supplements for administration to women during different stages of life.
2. Description of Related Art
Vitamin and mineral preparations are commonly administered to treat specific medical conditions or as general nutritional supplements. Recent studies have elucidated the important physiological roles played by vitamins and minerals, and established a correlation between deficiencies or excesses of these nutrients and the etiologies of certain disease states in humans. See, e.g., Diplock, "Antioxidant Nutrients and Disease Prevention: An Overview," Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 53:189-193 (1991); Document Geigy Scientific Tables, 457-497 (Diem and Cemtuer eds., 7th ed., 1975).
It has further become recognized that various life-stage groups of the human population require different quantities and types of vitamins and minerals to prevent or alleviate diseases, as well as to maintain general good health. For example, it is known that pregnant women commonly require iron therapy to prevent or treat iron-deficiency anemia. Various prior patents have been directed to improving the efficacy of iron supplements for use during pregnancy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,283, for example, discloses nutritional mineral supplements which include iron and calcium compounds in combination with citrates or tartrates, ascorbates, and fructose. The tendency of calcium to inhibit the bioavailability of iron is said to be reduced in such compositions, so that the conjoint bioavailability of these two minerals is enhanced.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,634 maximizes the bioavailability of iron in prenatal iron supplements by maintaining the amount of calcium compounds in the supplement at 300 mg or less and the amount of magnesium compounds at 75 mg or less per dosage unit.
Another approach to the same problem is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,479, wherein a multi-vitamin and mineral dietary supplement is provided which includes (a) one or more divalent dietary mineral components such as calcium or magnesium; and (b) a bioavailable iron component, presenting a controlled release form and adapted to be released in a controlled manner in the gastrointestinal tract.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,387 discloses a nutritional supplement preparation for pregnant and breast-feeding women which contains 10-20% by weight of protein, 16-28% by weight of fat, 43-65% by weight carbohydrates, and at most 3.5% by weight of moisture, minerals, trace elements and vitamins.
Despite the foregoing efforts to improve vitamin and mineral supplementation for pregnant women, conventional prenatal supplements are not ideally suited for women during other phases of their lives. For example, the nutritional needs of lactating women following a pregnancy differ from the needs during pregnancy. The vitamin/mineral requirements for non-lactating and menopausal women also differ from the requirements of pregnant women.
Conventional nutritional formulations are poorly designed for administration to women during various stages of life in which the physiological requirements of the women vary significantly. It would therefore be desirable to provide a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement which obviates this deficiency of known vitamin/mineral products.